Official Website
Official 24
Website
Platform: PlayStation 2
Genre: Action
Number of Players: 1
24 is probably one of the hottest shows on television
today, and each and every season it brings more and more fans into
the fold. Now some of us, like myself, have been following Jack
Bauer from Day 1, Hour 1 and haven’t missed an episode since, at
least not if we can help it. We’ve all probably wondered at some
point just what it would be like to live our a day of 24 and with
the series being an action packed drama filled with twists and
turns, it didn’t take long before someone had the brilliant idea to
make 24 into a video game.
If
you haven’t ever seen 24 before, the first thing I have to wonder is
just what in the heck is wrong with you? Second, stop reading, hit
the video store and pick up the first four seasons. If you have been
following the life of Jack however, 24: The Game is set between the
second and third seasons following the failed assassination attempt
on President Palmer’s life. Just like the with the series, the game
begins with plenty of action as Jack leads an assault team to locate
RICIN canisters onboard a ship, and that’s just the beginning. There
is yet another assassination attempt planned, this time against the
vice president, terrorist have their eyes set on CTU, and just when
you think you might have an idea what’s going on, something else is
thrown into the mix.
You might think that 24 is simply going to place you in the role of
Jack, but there are more characters in the series, and nearly all of
them are featured, and not just in the overall story. As the game
begins to unfold, you will also play levels as Tony Almeida,
Michelle Dessler, Chase Edmunds, and even Kim Bauer. Yes, Kim finds
herself in trouble once again, though this time she is actually
beginning her Internship at CTU. This isn’t a game that is all about
action either, and just like the series, you will find other types
of stages that go beyond gunplay.
24: The Game is a little different from the series in the fact that
it isn’t quite as story intensive and instead, action is the area of
focus. Pushing buttons to add in bits of dialog wouldn’t make for an
interesting game and the 50 plus missions that are here have you
performing a variety of different tasks. The main bulk of the game
is made up for foot based missions, and you’ll play through these as
almost every familiar face in 24. Each mission also has a number of
sub-objectives, such as obtaining a certain percentage of hit
accuracy, killing a predetermined number of terrorists, or reaching
your primary mission objective in under a certain time. The clock is
most certainly ticking.
On foot, you may find yourself infiltrating enemy territory or doing
something as simple as trying to detain a key witness. Should you be
armed, the controls are quite simple with R1 being your fire and L2
allowing you to aim at a specific target. Being locked onto a target
also allows you to cycle through the current onscreen enemies. At
times, you may also have enemies surrendering in which case you can
either detain them (throw the cuffs on them with the square button)
tackle them or just blow them away. You also have the option of
stealth (the triangle button) to silence your movement or sprinting.
The
game also allows you to use cover and, one of my favorites, issuing
commands which in this case will generally be something along the
lines of “CTU, drop your weapons!” It’s a familiar line for the
series, just as much as Jack’s usual use of “dammit” when thing
don’t go right (and they won’t.) You can also pick up weapons and
ammo from fallen terrorists and store some items (such as health
packs) for later use. You won’t always want to leave bodies out in
the open and you can drag these into a secure hiding spot so that
your location isn’t given away. If all else fails and ammo is low,
you can resort to hand-to-hand combat, though after seeing Jack
knock out Curtis in a single punch this season, I find it hard to
believe that some of these criminals can stand up against Mr. Bauer.
You also have your PDA handy to see what your objectives are for the
mission as well as the map (also available on the HUD display) and
your current available weapons.
When you’re not on foot, you have driving missions, and these are
quite basic. You just need to get from A to B, and at times you will
have the clock counting down. The controls here are much like any
other driving simulation, so you have brake, gas, and hand breaks to
work with but things aren’t always easy. There are missions where
you will find yourself fleeing from law enforcement, and these can
be rather taxing, especially since you’ll need to lose your tail
before completing your mission.
Computers always play a vital role in 24, and there are a number of
different computer missions to take on. These involve hacking, data
retrieval, or simply gathering information. The controls can be
different in these missions, but the game will always let you know
what needs to be done prior to beginning, so you’ll never be going
in blindly.
One of the last mission types is one that any 24 fan has hoped would
be included; interrogation. Yes, Jack makes a little time to get
right to the heart of the matter, and these missions are quite fun
(and stressful at times.) You just need to get your subject to
break, but that’s not necessarily as easy as it sounds. You need to
try and keep within their current stress level and you can play it
out in a number of ways. There’s the kind, gentle Jack who is calm
and rational, for example; if you help me, I’ll make sure that you
receive immediate medical attention. You can coax information; the
sooner you cooperate with me, the sooner this will all be over. But,
everyone’s favorite is Jack’s more aggressive approach; right now I
own you! Once you’ve managed to get them to provide enough
information, you can break them and get the information you need.
The one thing here that’s missing from the series is there aren’t
any opportunities to use torture, such as a live electrical cord, to
gather information (as seen in season 4), you never have the bribery
option (I can make you a deal with the president of the United
States of America that will clear you of all past crimes) and while
it doesn’t actually have anything to do with questioning, I never
found a chance to sever anyone’s head and stuff it into a bowling
ball bag (season 2.)
If you don’t complete a mission with a high enough percentage (100%
is really the key, though 90% or higher is acceptable) you can
replay the missions later. Gaining a high enough ratio not only
helps to improve your field agent ranking, but it will unlock some
additional features for the game. Character models and interviews
are just a few of the things that can be found here. At times,
getting a good rating isn’t always easy, so having the option to
play them again later is a handy asset.
Aside
from the voices of the characters all being used in both the cut
scenes and the in-game play, there are a number of other familiar
things that fans of 24 will immediately recognize. The two, three,
and four panel sequences are all accounted for, and at times you
will find these in missions, showing you action going on in another
location. The usual “The following takes place between” comes up
when a new hour begins, and loading the game also has a “Previously
on 24” heading that will fill you in on what has already transpired
in the game. Aside from the main characters that you will be playing
as, other members of 24 also appear in the game such as President
Palmer, Ryan Chappelle, and even Agent Aaron Pierce (probably one of
my favorite supporting cast members right now.) And, I’m happy to
report that thus far, there hasn’t been a traitor located within CTU
(seriously, that’s getting a bit old after five seasons.)
24: The Game isn’t quite perfect though, and there are some minor
issues that I have with it. The most important; it’s not going to
take 24 hours to finish. At hour 14 I realized I had only been
playing for less than 4 hours. Does that mean I can do Jack’s job
better than him? Probably not. The game tends to be a bit too
linear, and while time is a factor, you can’t stray off the path or
explore other areas. The driving missions feel too jerky at times
and there doesn’t seem to be any difference between the vehicles
used. The stealth needs to be improved just a little (I’m thinking
that Metal Gear Solid would be a perfect model for this) and things
like blind fire would be a great addition to the game.
Regardless to a few minor issues however, 24: The Game is going to
be the ideal thing to bring in new fans to the series and please
those that have been following it for quite a while, plus it can
help with those painful seven days between new episodes. The premise
of taking the popular series and transforming it into a game to
provide back story on other events opens up a number of
possibilities. Jack has mentioned on a number of occasions his
Kosovo mission, something that could finally be fully covered,
season five has brought up an event that occurred shortly after Jack
joined CTU regarding his former boss (and the man that hired him)
and the list of scenarios could grow from there.
The clock is ticking once again, and this time you
can be a part of the action.
-mike-
